I'm considering this surgeon for a lower body lift. Her consultation was extremely thorough and she even made me aware of a few plastics techniques that will fix my side/back skin, but that other plastic surgeons in the NYC metro area were not performing (Fleur de lis). I sent her photos and she completely addressed every area of my body. I feel confident in her abilities.

BUT...I want to see if anyone here has any unbiased reviews on this doctor. Going to Mexico for PS scares the crap out of me, but my insurance won't cover it even in a medical emergency and my funds are limited.

Thanks in advance!

Can a doc outside of the u.s. Sign disability papers for you while you're out of work? I'm considering this surgeon as well but like many of you, the Mexico part is what really scares me. I wondered about the disability part as well though.

I don't know. I doubt it.

Can a doc outside of the u.s. Sign disability papers for you while you're out of work? I'm considering this surgeon as well but like many of you, the Mexico part is what really scares me. I wondered about the disability part as well though.

I wonder if your pcp knowing about the procedure would be allowed to sign the papers. I know mine would probably tell me I'm crazy lol. She wasn't that on board with me having weight loss surgery either. I like her but she's very conservative with any treatments and I'm considering changing bit my surgery is May 31. Is like to be done with all of that before I look into a new doctor in case of complications she already knows me. I already know I'll need plastic surgery on my belly though.

I am staying at her recovery house now. Dr cardinas is the most charming a professional woman you'll ever meet. She is truly invested in her patients and extremely skilled as a surgeon. She preformed a neck lift, tummy tuck, and breast lift on me. Also included was 5 days in her awesome recovery house with 24 hour nurses. The hospital she operated out of is beautiful. Have zero doubts. She is the doctor you want to choose. She is also a weight loss patient herself and has much understanding of our bodies and needs. My results are beautiful. I adore her.
I paid 12,750 for neck lift with mastoplexy, extended tummy with. Uncle repair, and breast lift.

Congratulations! You look beautiful!

Maybe your bariatric surgeon could do the fmla forms for plastics as well, I am sure they know how to do it.

It is nice to read a couple of positive reviews about this doctor. She piqued my interest a while back but then I read a very negative review about her, basically describing her practice to be run like some dirty clinic down a back alley way. I have no idea about the legitimacy of the review as I did not know the reviewer... knowing that some people write false reviews, I still was left with a feeling of alarm (the woman's post was very detailed). Probably because I was friendly with another patient who had a fabulous result with Cardenas. She ended up getting an infection and after that she changed her name from BubbleGumBooty to something else (I cannot recall) and stopped posting. So, it made me wonder about the first patient's claim of a dirty clinic.
Well, I don't know that I've provided help or not. Surely there are surgeons in the US whose patients have complications, too (I was one of them!). There are a number of reviews about Cardenas on RealSelf and I am sure you can PM some of those patients and get your questions answered.
Good luck with your decision.

No way that review was true. Dr Cardenas has the most beautiful clinic and I've never been in a nicer hospital in my whole life. She is amazing and I am so happy I found her. She is the absolute best of the best of the damn best!!!!!!!! Love her

Not for the surgery part itself. I would never suggest anything illegal....

But why can't you have a physician verify that you are recovering from surgery via examination?

Not for the surgery part itself. I would never suggest anything illegal....
But why can't you have a physician verify that you are recovering from surgery via examination?

You can. ND just differ Some charge if not their direct care. Maybe your internist would. Easier to have the PS do it.

I am thinking of going back for a scar revision post trauma surgery

On 2017-03-30 at 12:29 PM, bellabloom said:

I am staying at her recovery house now. Dr cardinas is the most charming a professional woman you'll ever meet. She is truly invested in her patients and extremely skilled as a surgeon. She preformed a neck lift, Tummy Tuck, and breast lift on me. Also included was 5 days in her awesome recovery house with 24 hour nurses. The hospital she operated out of is beautiful. Have zero doubts. She is the doctor you want mto choose. She is also a weight loss patient herself and has much understanding of our bodies and needs. My results are beautiful. I adore her.
I paid 12,750 for neck lift with mastoplexy, extended tummy with. Uncle repair, and breast lift.

23 hours ago, Water Nazi said:

YOU LOOK WONDERFUL AND THE HOSPITAL AND RECOVERY HOUSE LOOK FANTASTIC. I AM GLAD TO HEAR AND SEE SUCH POSITIVE REVIEWS.

I had a lower body lift with Dr Carmina Cardenas in Tijuana with Beauty Enhance and it went very wrong and me and several other patients during my stay all got necrosis and a antibiotic resistant infection, I went to my local hospital and was there for 2 weeks and needed blood transfusions and emergency surgery to remove the necrosis and I have 2 huge holes in my body that I am going to wound care to receive help and it will take months of additional recovery plus money out of pocket.... when I discuss this Dr Carmina Cardenas tries to cover it up.... her only offer to help was for me to return to her facility on an airplane during Covid with a high fever and pus coming out of my body which would have been dangerous to my health, no way I could have gone thru an airport sick and why not go to my local emergency room? She was against it but I did so anyways and found out I was extremely life threatening sick, sadly she down played this.... she attributed my getting this infection to being a weightloss patient.... well most of her patients are weightloss patients as were the other women who got sick during my stay.... no, her facility got us sick due to something unclean during our stay!! I do not recommend this doctor! As it turns out there is others thru the years with issues. Just do your research and do not be fooled by the pretty website and glam offices!!

On 2/27/2021 at 2:03 AM, HillaryP said:

I had a lower body lift with Dr Carmina Cardenas in Tijuana with Beauty Enhance and it went very wrong and me and several other patients during my stay all got necrosis and a antibiotic resistant infection, I went to my local hospital and was there for 2 weeks and needed blood transfusions and emergency surgery to remove the necrosis and I have 2 huge holes in my body that I am going to wound care to receive help and it will take months of additional recovery plus money out of pocket.... when I discuss this Dr Carmina Cardenas tries to cover it up.... her only offer to help was for me to return to her facility on an airplane during Covid with a high fever and pus coming out of my body which would have been dangerous to my health, no way I could have gone thru an airport sick and why not go to my local emergency room? She was against it but I did so anyways and found out I was extremely life threatening sick, sadly she down played this.... she attributed my getting this infection to being a weightloss patient.... well most of her patients are weightloss patients as were the other women who got sick during my stay.... no, her facility got us sick due to something unclean during our stay!! I do not recommend this doctor! As it turns out there is others thru the years with issues. Just do your research and do not be fooled by the pretty website and glam offices!!

This is what scares me about going to Mexico for surgery. It's not that I think complications are more likely there because I think they can happen anywhere. But the lack of access to follow-up care is a problem. I can tend to be a complex patient and I need to know that my surgeon is there to deal with issues that may come up. Going back to Mexico wouldn't be a feasible option in that case, so I'd be on my own, looking for a provider to help me. That's not a prospect I'm comfortable with.

Oh, edit to add: I'm really sorry you're going through this, I wish you a complete recovery.

Edited February 28, 20215 yr by Jaelzion

On 2/27/2021 at 5:03 AM, HillaryP said:

I had a lower body lift with Dr Carmina Cardenas in Tijuana with Beauty Enhance and it went very wrong and me and several other patients during my stay all got necrosis and a antibiotic resistant infection, I went to my local hospital and was there for 2 weeks and needed blood transfusions and emergency surgery to remove the necrosis and I have 2 huge holes in my body that I am going to wound care to receive help and it will take months of additional recovery plus money out of pocket.... when I discuss this Dr Carmina Cardenas tries to cover it up.... her only offer to help was for me to return to her facility on an airplane during Covid with a high fever and pus coming out of my body which would have been dangerous to my health, no way I could have gone thru an airport sick and why not go to my local emergency room? She was against it but I did so anyways and found out I was extremely life threatening sick, sadly she down played this.... she attributed my getting this infection to being a weightloss patient.... well most of her patients are weightloss patients as were the other women who got sick during my stay.... no, her facility got us sick due to something unclean during our stay!! I do not recommend this doctor! As it turns out there is others thru the years with issues. Just do your research and do not be fooled by the pretty website and glam offices!!

Get well soon

On 2/11/2018 at 6:48 PM, My Bariatric Life said:

YOU LOOK WONDERFUL AND THE HOSPITAL AND RECOVERY HOUSE LOOK FANTASTIC. I AM GLAD TO HEAR AND SEE SUCH POSITIVE REVIEWS.

My review is NOT positive at all, I actually had a miserable experience and I’m still going through what I endured as a patient who was part of an outbreak at Dr. Carmina Cardenas / Beauty Enhance recovery facility outbreak of a antibiotic resistant bacterial infection and I am still going to wound care clinic in my local area after I was hospitalized for three weeks after I returned home from her facility in Mexico and I’m still dealing with the mess over four months later and this has cost me five times more what the surgery cost to begin with. I have disfiguring scars that will remain on my body From this and I cannot recommend this doctor or her recovery facility, particularly the way that she handled things after!! I found other reviews of other patients who had been to her before me who also had infections and they were treated the same horrible way after. When I went to her after when I was terribly life-threatening sick to get immediate attention her advice only got me more sick and she only gave me one option which was returned to Mexico with 103° temperature and infectious past pouring out of my incisions from the infection that I had received from her facility along with several other patients who contracted this at the exact same time who were staying at the facility when I was there also . She has gone around after I have shared my story with others trying to clean up her reputation by deflecting against the patients who were sick and I will say that when I needed her most afterwards when my life was in jeopardy, she claims she was there, for me but she wasn’t really at all unless you did exactly what she wanted which was putting my life in more Jeopardy.